


Forget-Me-Not

by revalis



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Language of Flowers, M/M, Misunderstandings, i don't like stinky but i needed a bully so here he is, moomin is a mess, snufkin needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 13:08:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18621259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revalis/pseuds/revalis
Summary: Snufkin's heart ached at the thought of leaving the place he called his home.





	Forget-Me-Not

Moomintroll had been avoiding Snufkin lately. Every time Snufkin had shown up at the Moominhouse his best friend had been nowhere to be seen and when he had asked about it, Moominmamma and Moominpappa had acted suspicious, avoiding eye contact and stuttering their words. Every time they had a different excuse as to why Moomintroll was not home, some more ridiculous than others.  
  
At first, Snufkin hadn't thought much of it, figuring that Moomintroll was up to some plan or adventure that he would share as soon as he felt ready to do so. Snufkin understood and let him be, knowing exactly how unpleasant it was to have others pry when he wanted time alone.  
  
It did not happen often that Moomintroll wanted to be alone, but it was not something to be worried about, at least not at first. However, after a week of this strange behaviour had passed, Snufkin began to notice that everyone else seemed to be in on Moomintroll's secret.  
  
Moominmamma and Moominpappa aside, even Sniff, Little My and Snorkmaiden would sometimes pass his tent on their way to the Moominhouse and when Snufkin tried calling out to them, asking what they were up to and if they had seen Moomintroll, they seemed to pretend not to have noticed him and hurried to their destination before he could ask them any more questions.  
  
And while it was not odd for Sniff to avoid speaking to someone he was keeping a secret from, he had never been a good liar after all, it was not like Little My to do the same. By now she should have told Snufkin all about the secret, or at least teased about it, whether or not Moomintroll wanted him to find out.  
  
It wasn't that Snufkin wanted to invade his friend's privacy or break his trust by prying the information out of one of the others, but he was beginning to wonder if he had done something to lose that trust already, without even noticing it.  
  
Still, Snufkin did not try to ask again, figuring that Moomintroll would have told him about it by now if he wanted him to know and if he even made sure everyone else kept quiet it must have been something important to him. Snufkin respected that.  
  
So instead of trying to find out more, Snufkin accepted his friends' behaviour and hoped they were not in any kind of trouble.  
  
For a while, he continued his days normally, did things he usually did. He spent his time wandering the woods, fishing in the river and sometimes at the beach, napping in the grass under the sun's gentle warmth and enjoying nature as he always had. He managed to distract himself from his friends' odd behaviour, still a little worry at the back of his mind, but not enough for it to disrupt his peace.  
  
Some days, however, Snufkin felt a little lonely. After all, his closest friends in all of Moominvalley had not spoken a word to him in quite some time and while being alone was often refreshing and Snufkin enjoyed it greatly, he did come back to Moominvalley every year not only for the place but for the people who made it what it was. Losing these people, if only for a short amount of time, made Moominvalley seem a little dull, less special.  
  
Snufkin sometimes wondered if his friends had turned away from him because they had lost interest in him, had stopped enjoying his company the way they had before. He wondered if it was time for him to move on as well, leave Moominvalley and go to other places, maybe find a new place to come back to.  
  
Snufkin's heart ached at the thought of leaving the place he called his home. He pushed the idea to the back of his mind but kept it there, just in case.  
  
One day, during one of Snufkin's small day trips, the desire to gather flowers overcame him, so he made his way to a large field that was covered with many different colors, sizes and shapes. He picked the prettiest he could find and tied them together into a crown.  
  
When he finished, Snufkin felt like something was missing, but he couldn't place what it was. He stared at the crown for a while, seeing his own emotions in it but not quite admitting them to himself just yet. He considered it for a moment and then glanced over at the small blue flowers a little further away from him. Of course, he thought, how ironic.  
  
Snufkin stood up with a small smile on his lips and shook his head at himself and his silly little idea before making his way over to the blue flowers. He picked them carefully and added them to his flower crown, then took another look at the now finished product. Perfect. He took off his hat and placed the crown on it before putting it back on again, satisfied with his work.  
  
On his way back to his tent, Snufkin noticed someone following him. He did not turn to face them but made sure to keep his attention on their presence. A flicker of hope in his chest made his heart skip a beat with the idea one his friends finally seeking him out again, but he quickly dismissed it, noting that this presence did not feel like a friend. Snufkin was not afraid, but felt uncomfortable at being followed after the sun had set by someone who would not reveal who they were.  
  
Snufkin stopped walking. A nearby bush rustled with movement. An animal? He lowered his head and turned it a little to listen to the sound. Not an animal.  
  
"How come you want to accompany me on this lovely evening without even letting me see who it is I'm walking with?" Snufkin called out. For a moment, there was no response and he was ready to brush it off and keep walking, to ignore whoever it was that was following him, when a figure stepped out of the bushes.  
  
"I wasn't stalking you or anything, I just noticed you have been all alone quite a lot recently, so I figured I could just find out why that is," Stinky shrugged. Snufkin turned to face him properly.  
  
"And you didn't think to just ask?" Snufkin questioned, wondering if Stinky was up to something again. The little creature stuttered out an excuse and sounded way too unsure of himself to be taken seriously, so Snufkin decided it was time to leave before the situation became any more unpleasant.  
  
He sighed quietly to himself and began to turn away again to continue on back to his tent when Stinky called out again. "Leaving, huh? Maybe that's the reason everyone is staying away from you. You take that mysterious image of yours so seriously and demand to be alone whenever you feel like it and that's why your friends have given up on you. It only makes sense for them to feel neglected in a friendship like that." Snufkin froze.  
  
"What, don't tell me you didn't realize? Now that i think about it, I'm pretty sure I heard Moomintroll and Sniff talk about you the other day, whispering to each other, something about making sure you don't show up when they go out to play," Stinky continued, now more confident after seeing the way Snufkin reacted to his mean words.  
  
"Snorkmaiden was there too, saying it would spoil the fun if you were there. I'm surprised you didn't notice that they prefer playing without you. Everyone else knows about it too, even Moominmamma and Moominpappa." The longer Stinky went on, the more it hurt Snufkin to listen. Although he knew that Stinky was known to say mean things and hurt others' feelings for his own entertainment, of course he knew, the things he said sounded a little too accurate to seem like complete lies.  
  
Snufkin swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and clenched his fists. "Go bother someone else, Stinky. Your words mean nothing to me, you're just wasting both our time trying to get to me. I trust my friends." His voice was low and even, did not break once, and for that he was grateful. Giving Stinky the satisfaction of showing just how close to home he had hit was out of the question. Snufkin would not encourage him in his bullying.  
  
The little creature shrugged. "Whatever you say, Snufkin. But don't say I didn't tell you when you finally realize the truth." With that, he disappeared back into the bushes he had come out of, leaving Snufkin alone with too many thoughts that now threatened to overwhelm him. He continued his way back nonetheless.

 

 

Snufkin's bag was packed. It had not taken too long, he never carried much after all. His tent was rolled up and secured with his few belongings, his harmonica in his hand. He glanced over at the Moominhouse, taking in all the familiar details and finally settling on the upstairs window one last time. He would miss it, no doubt, but sometimes one had to move on and find new joy in their life.  
  
Snufkin took a deep breath of Moominvalley's fresh, clean air, the scent and the feeling comforting in his nose. He removed the flower crown from his hat and placed it in the now empty spot where his tent had been. Then he turned away and began to make his way along the path that he usually travelled when winter was just around the corner. It felt different at this time of year. Different smells, a different view, a different feeling, different thoughts.  
  
The vagabond lifted his harmonica up to his mouth and played a gentle tune as he walked, letting it follow him to a new, unfamiliar place and the creatures of the forest watched as Snufkin left.

 

 

Not much time had passed when a certain Moomintroll heard from one of the forest's small beasts, all out of breath from running, that an infamous traveller dressed in green had been spotted leaving Moominvalley just minutes earlier. Moomintroll doubted it was Snufkin, because why would he leave at this time of the year without a warning? Then again Moomintroll had been avoiding him for quite a while now, making sure that his secret plan would not be spoiled.  
  
So when Moomintroll got to the spot where Snufkin's tent should have been and a crown of flowers had been placed there instead, small blue flowers sticking out innocently, yet with enough meaning to get the message across, he started running in the direction he knew his friend must have gone.  
  
After a while, a gentle melody sounded from somewhere in front of him and he sped up, trying to get there before it stopped. The closer Moomintroll got, the more he realized that he had not heard this song before and that it sounded so sad, almost like a goodbye. But Moomintroll refused to accept it, not after all he had been preparing for the past few weeks. "Snufkin!" he called out. The song stopped. Moomin ran faster.  
  
He turned a corner, following the path past the bushes that had been blocking his sight of his friend before, tripped over a root that was sticking a little too far out of the ground and fell. When he opened his eyes that he had instinctively closed, Snufkin was in front of him, jaw dropped and a variety of emotions displayed on his face in a way Moomintroll had never seen before. He allowed himself a moment to admire it, forgetting to speak and explain himself.  
  
"Moomintroll?" Snufkin finally asked, "What is wrong? Why are you-?"  
  
"Snufkin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you, I swear I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings, I just wanted to surprise you and it ended up taking longer than we thought it would and everyone was trying their best to help me but we kept messing up and then we had to start over so even now it's not finished and I can't-" Moomintroll stopped himself, waiting for Snufkin's reaction to his apology first. There was a beat of silence before his friend spoke.  
  
"What do you mean?" Snufkin's voice gave away no emotion, the surprise still evident on his face was the only indication that he was affected at all. Moomin stood up, patting some dirt off of his fur.  
  
"I was preparing something for you and it was supposed to be a surprise and make you happy, but it ended up doing the exact opposite and I'm sorry," Moomintroll said, "I was going to confess to you and asked everyone to help me prepare a romantic setting. We tried, we really did, but nothing seemed to be working out the way I wanted it to."  
  
Snufkin was stunned. Had he heard that right? "You-?" he questioned dumbly. Moomintroll nodded.  
  
"I love you, Snufkin. I've been meaning to tell you for a long time, but I never dared to. I was scared you'd leave me. Now I even managed to mess this up." Moomintroll lowered his head in shame and Snufkin said nothing, so he did not dare to look up and see his reaction. After a moment, however, he felt a slight pressure against his nose, very gentle and barely there. The sudden sensation surprised him so much that he snapped his head back up just as Snufkin was leaning back again, a blush rising to his cheeks.  
  
"Silly Moomintroll. I've never needed much, you know that. A confession just like this would have been enough. I wish I'd known sooner," Snufkin told him. Moomintroll felt the heat in his face.  
  
"So does that mean-? Are you staying or-?" he stuttered.  
  
"I'm staying. Moominvalley is my home after all. How could I ever forget that?"

**Author's Note:**

> you better believe stinky is getting one heck of a punishment after this one


End file.
